Organisers of the London Games Festival have today confirmed the first set of events which will be taking place in and around the Capital during the inaugural event. The festival has been extended to run for just over a month, kicking off on September 30th 2010, and concluding on November 4th 2010. During that time, the city will host a series of gaming events aimed at consumer and industry alike.

Eight varied events have been confirmed today, with many more to follow:

London Games Festival will kick off on a 30th September, with a gala opening and VIP preview at the Eurogamer Expo, Earl’s Court.

For the following three days (October 1st - 3rd), the Eurogamer Expo will host up to 20,000 consumers in the UK’s largest gaming exhibition. As well as showcasing forthcoming releases from all the major publishers, the event will host a comprehensive series of presentations from the very best game developers and designers.

A Eurogamer Expo party raising money for GamesAid will be held on 1st October, with all proceeds raised heading straight to the games industry’s chosen charities.

The Games Media Awards take place on October 14th. Aimed at celebrating and rewarding the very best in gaming journalism, it’s sure to be a feisty evening as magazine battles magazine, website battles website and new games media legends are born.

The Golden Joystick Awards will be held on October 29th. The world’s largest - and longest-running - consumer voted awards are always hotly contested, and will reveal the country’s favourite games across 16 categories.

The MCM Expo returns from October 29th - 31st, bigger and better. The UK’s largest Entertainment event taking place at ExCeL London with up to 45,000 consumers. Packed full of gaming content, all the major publishers showcasing forthcoming releases with larger than ever exhibition space and more gaming lectures and panel discussions.

TIGA will host a developer-focussed event on October 27th - a one day business summit on marketing and sales aimed at developers looking to move into self-publishing.

The London Games Conference will close the Festival on November 4th. Based around a theme of ‘Survival and Profit in a Changing Industry’, it features a packed itinerary of gaming-focussed presentations and debate, and will provide essential analysis and informed predictions on the future of the industry.

In addition, events at BAFTA, Great Ormond Street and Chessington World of Adventures - among many others - are soon to be announced on the Festival’s website: www.londongamesfestival.com. You can also follow the festival on Twitter @londongamesfest

The London Games Festival will run from September 30th to November 4th, in and around London. For specific information on the programme announced so far, please visit www.londongamesfestival.com.